Intercooler Placement IDEAs Needed., Need a better option.....Love my water to air, but open Options

[budman5201]

As all you probably know, i have a ej20 turbo subaru in my car. I love it and it runs great, but now i am at the point where i want to streamline how well the system works.......

First matter of attention is the intercooler placement. I have a small water to air intercooler tucked in front of the pulley on my subaru motor. It works great, but i am getting a little too much heat soak on the aluminum tubes leading to it. I was debating an idea of putting it in the rear trunk or in the fender since placement wouldnt be a factor because its a water to air. I do like the one members ORANGE nice turbo car on 914world here with the air/air one in the back and vent in the wing.....

Looking for ideas....

[Maltese Falcon]

Budman, since your set-up is water-to-air, the main thing to consider is the placement of your "Exchange core" radiator. Maybe I've missed it...but is that core in a cold air area ? Your placement of your intercooler with the charge pipes visible just behind the firewall would be a bad choice for an air-to-air (however your's is air/ water), the culprit is getting really cold flowing water to the intercooler. You may also want to explore a larger intercooler , the downside is pressure loss of 1 to 2 psi, but the gains ( and engine life) are enormous with a colder intake charge temp. There is no real need to put an air-water intercooler in the trunk, I've seen them stuffed under the HOT hoods of twin turbo supras with no problems. Another downside to trunk mounting is the distance your charge pipes will need to travel...which will also contribute to pressure loss.
The air-to-air that I use works well, and takes approx 130 deg out of the charge air. The charge pipes are also kept short (no pressure loss) as I've built custom plenums facing rearwards. Since you are not running an oil tank, maybe put the exchange radiator in that fenderwell with a naca duct. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Marty